Sylvie: Falls on Me

Sylvie (aka Drugdealer’s Ben Schwab, with Marina Allen and Sam Burton) follow up their debut single, curiously entitled “Sylvie” (a cover of an obscure ’70s track that inspired their band name), with an original composition, “Falls on Me,” from the same nostalgic vein. “This is the one off the [forthcoming, self-titled] EP that is directly about my life and my growth,” Schwab explains in a statement. …

Sound and Sorrow: Nite Jewel Discusses Her Upcoming Album, “No Sun”

The singer-songwriter, musician, producer and scholar on laments, loss and the lack of hierarchy in her new music

Nite Jewel—aka singer-songwriter, producer and scholar, Ramona Gonzalez—is poised to release her first new album in four years. No Sun (out on her own Gloriette Records, 27 August) is a vehicle not only to express the impossible to express, but also to explore and experiment with genre and song creation. The LA-based artist set out to make the record with just a Moog synth and …

Aaliyah: Hot Like Fire

Aaliyah’s second album One in a Million (released two years after she escaped her illegal marriage to R Kelly, who produced her 1994 debut) has—20 years after her death—arrived on streaming services. With production from various individuals including Rodney Jerkins, Craig Kallman, Barry Hankerson and Jomo Hankerson, the album sounds just as futuristic and dynamic as it did three decades ago. Aaliyah’s soft and smooth vocals …